Sigiri

I love this place! The food is delicious and service is really great. The first time I came here, I accidentally ordered a dish with dairy in it (I am allergic) and when I realized what I had done, they were so nice about canceling the order and finding me a dish that was suitable. Plus it’s BYOB!

Good food at this restaurant! The atmosphere is cozy and unassuming — nothing that’s outstanding here when it comes to the ambiance. But judging from a couple dishes, the food seems to be one of the better Sri Lankan restaurants I’ve had (and only one I know in NYC). Kotthu Roti is the type of flavorful spicy — definitely a kick but still a pleasure to eat. Good eggs, good side curry. Cash only though. I’m sure the other items on here are delicious as well. Buffet for lunch, too — has the basics (curry, dal, vegetables, dessert etc.).

The restaurant has very nice atmosphere. They have a variety of vegetarian options. Prices are cheap and portions are big. I tried vegetable rice and curry, it was super delicious! I ordered with Allset and food was ready really fast!

OMG! This place is freakin’ awesome!
I’m from Boston and I visit NYC pretty regularly and I always try to squeeze a visit to Sigiri whenever I can. I really enjoy their food.
The wait for dinner can get quite long (45mins-​1hr) but the food makes it worth it. I’m docking a point because the place runs slow. I think it took 10 – 15 mins for the waiter to give us our menus, another 15 – 20 for him to return to take our order. Its slow. so its not a spot to come to if you don’t have a lot of time.
Things I have tried and highly recommend —
Dhal Vade for apps. It comes with this yummy coconut side and is quite filling.
Devilled Chicken (extra spicy) — This reminds me of an Indo-​chinese chicken which can get quite spice! I love that they use chicken with bones
The prawn curry is to die for!!! reminds me of something my family from goa will make! soooooo delicious!
And lastly… the Lamprais!!! you have to get this. Like just do it. You can literally eat it without any curry or sauce. Simply amazing.
You leave so so full but its so so worth it!
Sigiri is definitely a place I recommend and will visit often! yay for amazing food!

Here’s a comprehensive list of things I know about Sri Lanka:
–It used to be called Ceylon, which is also the name of a planet in Battlestar Galactica
–It has a city named Colombo, which is the commercial, but not the administrative, capital
–It used to be occupied by the British
–Southeast of India
–Delicious, at times almost inedibly spicy food
We had attempted to dine at Sigiri once before on a Saturday evening, but there was a 1.5 hour-​long wait and we ended up eating elsewhere. We tried again this past Saturday and were able to sit right down with our pint-​sized beers (BYOB, what’s up).
Sigiri is your typical tiny hole-​in-​the-​wall NYC restaurant, but I also thought the atmosphere was inviting and the décor was pretty nice. I walls were a orange.
This review is list-​heavy. Here’s another of what we ordered:
–Chicken Mulligatawny Soup (chicken, vegetables, spices and coconut milk)
–Chicken Lamprais (flavored rice, chicken, fish cutlet, boiled egg, ash plantains and eggplant cooked in a banana leaf)
–Pork Black Curry
We shared the small bowl of soup as a starter, but I wish I had it all to myself as it was my favorite item of the night. Doesn’t get a lot of love on Unilocal,but I think it should! Then, we basically split the other two dishes; my boyfriend ordered the lamprais with a medium spice and I, having been warned on Unilocal and by our server (who was very polite) about the spiciness of the food, opted for a mild curry. I’m not sure if the spice level was accidentally switched or if the curry is just naturally hotter, but my pork curry was just a bit too spicy for me to tolerate so the bf ended up eating most of it. I would’ve been a bit annoyed (because how is a mild curry THAT spicy?) but the Lamprais was so good, I just ate that! It was really delicious and had a tolerable amount of heat. This was all a good amount of food for two people — there was actually a little bit we couldn’t finish.
I definitely recommend Sigiri, if you can handle the heat!

Do you enjoy regretting eating too much spicy food? This is the place for you.
Know before you go:
Cash only
BYOB
The place is discreetly located on an upper floor. It’s tiny and seats around 20 people so there will likely be a wait
Do not underestimate the spice
This was my first time trying Sri Lankan food and it did not disappoint. First of all, almost everything is spicy. And this is a dry, clean brisk spicy that you’ll find bracing at best and painful at worst. I usually get hot-​extra hot for most foods when there’s the option but I decided to err on the side of caution for the sake of my digestive system and got medium for everything. I thought everything was a very enjoyable amount of spice, definitely hot but not tongue-​numbingly so. Even my dad who is a chili head agreed that medium was potent enough. I could probably handle the hot in reasonable portions but I don’t even want to imagine what the spiciest level would do to you. That should only be attempted by people with stomachs made of steel, or a death wish.
I tried:
Pol roti (4 pieces for $ 10) — a thick, dense, flakey coconut pancake that resembles a patty more than the soft fluffy roti you get at Indian places. It comes with an onion sambal, making this a sweet sidekick to all the spicy mains
Chicken kotthu roti ($ 16) — chopped up roti stir fried with chicken and vegetables. Basic but tasty. The portion is deceptively small, it looks like a small bowl but I could only get through ¹⁄₃ of it — it’s heavy.
Chicken lamprais ($ 16) — rice with chicken, fish cutlet, deep fried boiled egg, eggplant and ash plantain baked in a banana leaf. So unique and good. This was the unexpected favorite of mine.
Pork black curry ($ 13) — tender for boneless pieces of pork, with an interesting black curry. Ask for a half bowl of rice to accompany it.
My stomach was on fire but I couldn’t stop eating. It was all so good.
The only downsides were
— the kitchen is slow. It took around 25 minutes for our food to come out. Worth the wait, but annoying if you’re hungry
— the waiter brought us the check before we could get some dessert. I wanted to try some watalappan to cool down but there’s next time I guess.
Overall, a great option (if not one of the only ones) for one of the tastiest and most underrepresented cuisines in this city.

The theme for this joint is Hot Hot Hot!!! One of my friends (we went as a group of six); decided on this place for one of our boozy meetings. I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself into but I’m glad that I went cause the food ended up being as dope as everyone says it is. One thing to keep in mind, because the food is fresh, and they’re very popular expect a long wait for the food. We ordered the Mixed Rice, the Chicken Kotthu Roti, Devilled Fish, and String Hoppers.
Each of these dishes came with their own unique and wonderful flavor not to mention the kick in your mouth you got once you took a bite. Now I’m used to very hot and spicy dishes but I never had a dish like Devilled Fish… Starts out sweet then gets spicy once you take a bite (actually that’s the description I gave when mentioning my ex-​girlfriend lol). The funny thing was everybody at my table didn’t even go for water, since Sigiri has a BYOB policy, we came up in the spot with a bootleg bottle of Rum punch, a few beers and a malt beverage. I think we even shocked the waiters cause the look on their face said it all at the end of the night.

If you can handle your spice then you must visit this place! The service is a bit slow as they make everything fresh but it’s worth the wait. I ordered for the fish stew with appams, it was full of flavour and perfectly cooked. My friends ordered the chicken black curry but it was fiery but really tasty. Great variety in vegetarian options as well.
I don’t think I’ll be going again because of the spice content in the food but it’s definitely worth a visit!

I always walk by Sigiri, but I get distracted by their bedazzled neighbors who are fairy-​lights crazy. May or may not have over ordered for 3 people, but how can you resist when everything smells so delicious? Thank goodness this place is BYOB, I was washing everything down with alcohol so that I could continue eating. Overall, I really enjoyed the flavors, even when some dishes were overcooked (why??), and of course the BYOB doesn’t hurt.
–Appetizer sampler: A variety of deep fried goodies that were deceptively spicy! Great way to begin our meal, but too filling.
Chicken Biryani: Fragrant and delicious, but the chicken was overcooked and dry.
–Kotthu Roti: This is only my second time trying kotthu, this one was a little too «wet». I think all the other spicy dishes overpowered this one, and my tastebuds were wonky.
–Prawn Curry: Terribly dry, so overcooked, but the curry sauce was delicious and so spicy (mouth was on fire).
–Aappa: Delicious little pancakes with awesome onion sambol that is insanely spicy. It starts off sweet, but that spice just makes your stomach churn.

Amazing little restaurant in the East Village!
For starters, it’s a bit difficult to find, as it’s a very small, narrow restaurant, above other shops/​restaurants on a busy 1^st ave. A few friends have been here before and raved about it, so I decided to try it out this past Friday night with a few friends. I completely walked past the restaurant and my friend had to stop me — plus I got freaked out by the three crazy Indian restaurants next door who all compete for the same business and try to lure you in.
Anyway, once we walked up the metal stairs and popped our head in, we saw they were packed. The waiter came out and said he’d move a couple of tables for us to get us seated in a few minutes. There were a total of five of us, so it was a bit more difficult to seat, as the width of the restaurant can essentially hold a table of four with some walking room along the wall. A couple moved to the window, which was nice of them, enabling them to put a large table in the back, in front of their counter.
We completely forgot that it was BYOB, so I’m telling all of you — this place is BYOB! Which is great because there aren’t many restaurants in NYC that are BYOB (and makes sense — have no idea where this place would store alcohol).
Once we were seated, we were given water and ordered our drinks — opted for the mango juice — normal mango juice… like Maaza. The waiters were extremely busy, but nice… not friendly necessarily, but nice, explained the food to us, and were diligent.
As a head’s up, when we were there a few days ago, our waiter mentioned that the menu is new and not all items would be available. For appetizer, we split the vegetable spring rolls and they were delicious — not Thai/​Chinese spring rolls that you think of. This was a doughy, crêpe-​like ball, filled with veggies and delicious hot sauce (very similar taste to Maggi hot and sweet tomato sauce) to dunk it in. It didn’t fall apart and it wasn’t crispy… it was essentially breaded.
For our meals, we split a few things, and mind you, we got it SPICY, and they made it extra spicy, which we all enjoyed. Sri Lankan food is generally super spicy, so if you can’t take a lot of heat, ask for mild, but it’ll still be super tasty.
Kotthu Roti — delicious, but dry. This was a mixture of shredded roti (pancake) with some veggies and egg, and the spice level was on point. It was dry so we asked for some additional sauces, included more of that hot/​sweet sauce we had with the spring rolls and this other sauce that they gave us. Personally, I was shocked how it came out because I didn’t read it fully and thought it was going to be a roti dish (similar to Roti Canai in Malaysian food), but this was a tasty surprise. The shredded-​ness adds a whole new level of texture and taste to the dish, allowing you to bring in the eggs, veggies, and spices together with every bite. Would definitely get this again (and it warmed up nicely in the microwave the next day when I had the leftovers for lunch).
Devilled Specialties (Vegetables) — BEST. This was definitely my favorite dish of the evening. Think asian stir fry, but tastier, spicier, and cooked in a delicious sauce/​gray. There were onions, peppers, and other veggies mixed together, with white rice on the side. This was perfect, especially when you mix it with the rice and the Kotthu Roti — all of it together really works too. The spices/​flavors of Sri Lankan food are great.
Veggie Mixed Fried Rice — this was also very good — reminded me of indian fried rice, but again, the spices and flavor profile are very different and delightful. You didn’t even need sauce with it, but again, added some of the hot/​sweet sauce on it.
Overall, fantastic place. I’ll definitely be back, and next time, with a bottle of wine.

Sri Lankan food lends credence to the fact that the further south you go in India, the hotter the food gets. I dunno how that’s possible, but these guys pull it off.
The pork masala is great — We always got this because it tastes just like the Coorgi Pork Masala which is legend. Now I haven’t found a Coorgi restaurant in the USA and hence we need to improvise here. I’ve been here with a Coorgi and he attests to the fact that it is indeed authentic.
Everything else is normal Tamil fare — puttu, parattas, chapathis, rice, idlis to go with the plethora of curries. Don’t miss the fish curry while you’re at it. I would skip the Kothu Borota… its good over here, but I just don’t dig the fundamentals of the concept since in my opinion the idea of diced paratta mixed with meat and spice is inherently confusing and busy (The origins of this dish was to make use of old paratta in South India and Ceylon)
Its a tiny place which is the only downside. Dont sit by the door because if you do, you’ve got to jostle around in your seat while bands of people walk in and out, not to mention the dudes who want to keep the door open and let the chilly air inside while they wait.

Shoutouts to Kristen M. for reviewing this place to the point I had to bookmark it!
This place deserves a 5 if we’re judging based on the food. I mean last time I’ve had so much flavor at one time was when I opened up the tropical pack of skittles. I LIVE for spicy food and the amount of spice the dishes at Sigiri lays on my tongue is way too satisfying. Even the gravy was good, but keep in mind this is my first time trying Sri Lankan cuisine. Like great things really come in small packages. This place is tucked in a small lil «gallery mall» (don’t think too hard on that description) right on first avenue. Quick tip: don’t drive here you’ll never find parking but let me not digress. So back to being tucked away… yes, you’ll skip over this place easily and wouldn’t think anything of it. EVERYTHING I had was absolutely delicious. You ever been so full but the food is so good you feel guilty for giving up on it? Yea, Sigiri would do that to you. Generous portions, amazing food, great price, intimate setting, OH… and its BYOB. Totally wish I would’ve remembered that prior to getting there. I was more sober than a nun in that place, but with those spices water is truly all you need.
I wasn’t too fond of the service. I had to flag my waiter down each time I wanted to order.
Appetizer: «Hey, I’d like to put in an appetizer»
Dinner: «Hi, we’re ready to order now»
Dessert: «May I see the dessert menu?»
Bill: «Hey, we’ll take the check now»
I’m not even kidding you. To top that off our waiter didn’t even check up on us between meals. Idk if it’s because we were sitting right in front of him so he could tell that we were okay via facial expressions or if he was just that lazy and didn’t give any flying fu*ks. This place is SMALL so please don’t over invite.
Besides the service, I loved this place and I’d come here a billion more times even if I have to serve myself.

Good food but nothing special. It was definitely distinct from Indian food but there are a lot of similarities. This place is cash only and has limited and unattractive seating options. I don’t recommend getting the appetizers because there is nothing fancy going on there but do try some of the entrees. Portions are large so split it with a friend or come hungry.

Not authentic at all. Gravy on kotthu?!? I can understand fusion but this is not nearly as good as the original.
I have really high standards now because the Sri Lankan food in toronto is so good and so cheap. I didn’t think that this tastes anything even remotely close. In fact it wasn’t as good as the Sri Lankan I’ve has in LA (which is not known for lankan food)
Pricey ($ 15) for kothu roti etc
Kind of slow
Cash only

When I’m in the mood for Sri Lankan food, I take the ferry to Staten Island, Duh.
But when I don’t have the time or energy (98% of the time), I go to Sigiri.
I entered with a little too much hubris, and left literally crying with a napkin in my mouth. The server asked me mid-​meal, «Are you Indian or Pakistani?» I asked, «Why?» He said, «Because we don’t use Dahi (yogurt) to cool down our mouth. It’s not traditionally part of our meals. We can take the heat (he was laughing)». He said this because I kept asking for copious amounts of Dahi to soothe my tongue.
I ordered the Fish Curry, HOT. Server asked me… «Are you sure? It’s VERY very hot…» I was like, «Yeah, I only eat hot…» He whistled, smiled and walked away. He also mentioned that even *he* doesn’t eat their hot. Now please note that when I’m in Manhattan and I order anything «HOT» it always comes out medium spicy… Spouse was smart and ordered his dish Medium… based on the energy and vibe he felt from the server… he KNEW he wasn’t playin’.
The meal came and I started eating, it was so yummy. and then BAM it hit me. This is why Sri Lankans always make fun of their northern neighbors… because they crank it up five-​fold. But I couldn’t STOP eating, because it was still delicious. So, I resorted to what I do when I’m in Jamnagar, India (dad’s hometown), I asked for a towel. I first wiped off my mascara, knowing the tears would soon flow like Niagara Falls (good, spice tears). I also took off my outer layer, knowing the sweat would come out of pores that are reserved for these moments.
At this point, half of the staff was watching me, laughing… but I was laughing (and crying) with them. I kept asking for more Dahi — because that’s what we do in my family to accommodate the heat. I ate so much Dahi, that they ran out… The water didn’t help… my insides were in flames and I LOVED it. Real spice with real taste is hard to find in these parts.
I can’t wait to go back… and this will be the only place (that I know of) in Manhattan, where I will order my Desi food medium spicy.

Tasty sri-​lankan food here!
We ordered the kothu roti and the fish stew. Both very hearty and satisfying! Portions were smaller than I expected though and the service was also a bit slow… we ordered two iced coffees and they took around half an hour to be served.
I’d come back here but probably not before I try some of the other neighboring restaurants.

Love this place — really spicy, warm comfort food. I’ve been here several times and loved everything. It’s cash only and you can get beer from the store below.
Highly recommend for dates or smaller groups because it’s a tiny place.

Perhaps my tongue was numb from the extreme spice (be warned, the food here is INCREDIBLY spicy), but I was a bit underwhelmed by my experience at Sigiri. I loved one or two of the dishes, but the rest fell flat. And the noisy/​chaotic atmosphere coupled with the sloth-​like pace of the food kind of ruined my impression.
I’ve never had Sri Lankan cuisine before, but it has some similarities with Malaysian. The two standouts were the Chicken Lamprai and Kotthu Roti. The Kotthu Roti tasted like fried rice but to the next level, and I enjoyed the doughy pancake mixed in. Apparently, it’s a road-​side specialty in Sri Lanka, which leads me to believe it’s very overpriced here, but it was by far my favorite dish. The pork black curry was just spicy to the point of misery, and the server brought out yogurt for me (very nice gesture!) since he saw me dying. Sometimes, spicy food is worth it and you fight the pain because it’s damn good. This was too one-​dimensional. «Medium spicy» is no joke here.
Also, I’m confused about the review that says this would be a good date spot. It’s impossible to hear anything! You and your date would have to scream at the top of your lungs at each other. The tables are shoved right next to each other as well, so the chance of elbowing a stranger is likely.
My biggest gripe is that the food took forever to come out. I’m guessing we waited around 40 minutes, and it didn’t help that we were hangry. Overall, it’s a great place to try Sri Lankan food, but the stressful atmosphere and slowness were a downer.

Whenever one of my girlfriends calls me and says, «I’m dating this new guy. He’s a foodie. It’s my turn to plan the date. I really want to impress him. Where do we go!?» Without hesitation, I say «Sigiri.» It hasn’t failed my girls once yet. First of all, it’s a great date spot in that it’s unpretentious, off the beaten ‘dating’ path so to speak (but not in a secluded place such that your date will think you are taking them somewhere to die), and Sri Lankan food is such a non-​sequitor date option that if your date is truly a «foodie», they will be taking you home to meet the parents as your next date. The best part is, Sigiri’s food is phenomenal. As far as I know, it’s the only Michelin recommended Sri Lankan restaurant in Manhattan. That may have changed, but if so, it still would only be one of the very few Sri Lankan restaurants to make the Michelin cut so that’s saying something. It’s very well deserved.
Now, since I’m recommending this as a date spot, it’s probably good to know that if either you or your date do not handle spice/​heat well, or at all then proceed with caution. I love food, but I am the first to admit I am a hot spice wuss, my Caribbean family threatens to revoke my heritage card all the time for this. Yet for the right meal I’ll overcome my spice phobia and let loose. Sigiri is worth it! I braved every heat option, and eventually asked that our kind waiter stop refilling my water and just leave the pitcher on the table (there is no shame in my game), and I just kept eating, because even for this spice phobic freak– it was incredible! My friend, who is a spice lover laughed at me the whole time so worry not normal spice eating people, I think you’ll be ok. Although, she did say the food was spicy so at least I wasn’t completely over reacting. I recommend you take small tasting bites of your meals before you dive in so as to gauge your heat level… or bring a trough of water/​milk along just in case?
Feel free to ask questions when ordering, all of the staff were incredibly friendly and proud of their food, which is always fun in a dining experience.

My Indian friend recommended me Sigiri as I told her I was craving for some really authentic Indian cuisine. First things first, Sigiri serves Sri Lankan food, NOT Indian. I only realized that when I opened the menu and read Sri Lankan-​this and Sri-​Lankan that. Bad friend! I was really only craving for masala… curries…tikka
Well anyway, I whipped up Unilocal,every foodie’s BFF and looked at fellow Unilocalers’ recommendations. The Kotthu Roti ($ 14.50) seemed like a crowd favorite even though I disagreed that it «melts in your mouth» — I mean, it’s faaar from it. Feeling unapologetic, I ordered «Spicy» as my tolerance level is pretty high… this will come and haunt me later on.
When the dish arrived, it did look really good in its cupped shape, served on a little plate. I have to say that the first bite was almost divine with its mix of flavors, spices and fragrance. But after that, I feel that it just went down hill. Perhaps, the grease is to blame but it just wasn’t very appetizing to finish the entire dish. The other reason why I didn’t enjoy it was because it was just too SPICCYYYYY! I could hear the spirits of little children laughing in my ears as I reached for the cold water, glass after glass. I might have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t this spicy but I’m still not sure about finishing the entire dish (share it with someone else, maybe??).
I also ordered the Sri Lankan Iced Coffee ($ 3.50) which came in a little wine glass. Even though it was a tad too sweet for my taste, I found it really interesting as you could tell that the drink was made with spices too — this might be an acquired taste…
All in all, I feel that my meal was A-​OK as I didn’t fully enjoy the Kotthu Roti and Iced Coffee (I take partial responsibility for ordering it Crazy A$$ Spicy). Also, given that this isn’t a fancy establishment, the price is a little too high.
Peace out